FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com december 19, 2013 • The Queens Courier 19 POLS RAMP UP CALL FOR SAFETY BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO [email protected] Local elected officials are calling for the Department of Transportation (DOT) to put an end to deadly accidents after an off-duty NYPD officer was killed when she lost control of her car and careened off an exit ramp of the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge. Elisa Toro, 36, a 10-year NYPD veteran assigned to Manhattan’s 17th Precinct, was heading off the bridge’s exit ramp around 1:50 a.m. on Tuesday, December 10 when she struck a guardrail, then a cement barrier, said police. The car then flipped onto its passenger side, hitting a vacant storefront on Queens Plaza South at Crescent Street. Toro, a Bronx resident, was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was injured in the accident, said police. The investigation is ongoing. Following a series of accidents at the same site in 2011, State Senator Michael Gianaris, Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer, Congressmember Carolyn Maloney and Assemblymember Catherine Nolan sent a letter to the DOT demanding the agency redesign the ramp and continue to improve temporary safety measures for pedestrians and storefronts until the exit ramp is redesigned. “No one else should have to die before the city realizes that this exit ramp is fundamentally unsafe,” said Gianaris. “We stood here two years ago asking for a complete redesign of the off ramp, and instead we got new signs and a couple barriers. The time for half measures is gone. We need a safer exit ramp before another tragedy occurs.” Gianaris asked the DOT to improve traffic safety in the area and redesign the bridge’s exit ramp after a series of accidents in 2011. But a redesign of the exit ramp was “ignored” and only “additional signage and Local elected officials gathered at the site of a fatal car accident off the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge to call for safety measures and a redesign of the bridge’s exit ramp. minimal barriers” were added, according to Gianaris. The barrier, which was destroyed in a 2011 crash, was never replaced, he said, and could have protected the storefront in Tuesday’s accident. “The east bound off ramp of the Queensboro Bridge Photo Courtesy of Senator Michael Gianaris’ Office is clearly a death trap,” said Van Bramer. “Cars are still flying off this bridge, into store fronts, and putting the lives of pedestrians and motorists in jeopardy. It is clear that the Department of Transportation has not done enough.” st of the 2013 THE QUEENS QueensCourier.com Place FREE Eye Exam WITH PURCHASE OF COMPLETE PAIR OF GLASSES OR EYE EXAM ONLY – $25 (REG. $85) COMPETITIVE PRICES with • Personalized Service & Attention • Our Professionally Trained Staff Will Give You A Careful Fit • Newest Styles • No Gimmicks 20% OFF ALL PURCHASES not to be combined with any other offer Varilux no-line bifocals progessive lenses w/plastic or metal frames $170 Choose From Over 300 Frames Some restrictions 2 Pairs of Eyeglasses (Frames & Lenses) $99 may apply. Not to be combined with any other offer. Choose From Over 300 Frames Some restrictions may apply. Not to be combined with any other offer. We Honor Most Competitor’s Coupons WE ARE A LOCAL FAMILY-RUN BUSINESS, NOT A CHAIN. WE OFFER PERSONAL SERVICE WITH HIGH QUALITY & LOW PRICES HUGE SELECTION! 50% OFF non-prescription sunglasses. Some restrictions may apply. Not to be combined with any other offer. • Lenses Duplicated • Motor Vehicle Exam • Prescription Filled • Adjustments Done At No Extra Charge • Lab on Premises • Tinting • Eye Exams Clifford Optical 38-19 BELL BOULEVARD, BAYSIDE • 718.229.8086 OFFERING THE LOWEST PRICES ON CONTACT LENSES
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